Madara's Drinking Problem
by sandyatthebeach
Summary: An imaginative explanation of Nyanko-sensei's tendency to drink himself into a stupor, courtesy of Natsume's dreams.


Hi, everyone!

This is basically just my fangirl imagination explaining why Nyanko-sensei feels the need to go drinking all the time. Let's just pretend he's not simply a glutinous, hedonist creature who likes to waste his time on pleasure. (He's also a super sexy, glutinous, hedonistic man who likes to waste his time pleasuring Natsume…)

Note: The dream mentioned (the one that's actually canon, in case that needed clarification) is the one concerning the woman-guised ayakashi whom Natsume confided to when he was young. She was gentle and kind, and Natsume would meet with her in the park to find comfort in the fact that he wasn't alone anymore. This memory always broke my heart, because the ayakashi was just as lonely as Natsume – he simply didn't realize until he grew older. I wish there was a manga chapter or anime episode dedicated to their reunion.

And now onto Madara's drinking problem!

_Natsume… It's just that I really wanted to talk to you…_

That was when it all began.

As a gloriously powerful youkai, I was interested in humans for only two things: one: food, and two: entertainment. Those who didn't fit into one of the listed categories I ignored completely. But, somehow, Natsume Takashi managed to become more than just a snack or a new toy.

The first dream made Natsume cry. The one solace the little brat found had turned out to be an ayakashi, so I could understand his feelings. Always feeling alone, with no one who could ever understand.

I'll admit it- it made me a bit misty-eyed, too. "It's just that… I really wanted to talk to you," huh. The kid deserves some sympathy, I suppose. It just goes to show. Humans really are cruel and ignorant.

They don't believe anything they don't see with their own two eyes, and they ostracize those who don't fit in with their own unique standard of normal. How ironic. Ayakashi are similar to humans, too, I suppose- quick to misunderstand, and equally quick to jump to conclusions.

But all that matters not. What's troubling me is a far more pressing matter.

Those dreams. When Natsume has them, I try to stay with him, sleep near him. I'm kind that way. Sure, at first, I tried to eat him (I was half-asleep, in my defense!), and I would sit on him and bother him to wake him up. Often, I felt like I was intruding, so I left his room, leaving a note telling him I was going out to drink. On those sorts of nights, I would just as often take a walk down the river as I would go out to drink.

Now, though, when they start, I lie near him to remind him that he's not alone. The kid likes warm things, so I lie right up against his side. Sometimes, though, when he wakes up, he'll turn his face away so I don't see his tears.

Again, silly humans… always pretending to be strong.

However, there are other times when he blinks away the wetness in his eyes, and reaches out a hand to pat me on the head. Sometimes he'll pick me up and hold me close. When he does that, he's just reminding himself that there's someone close to him. Even if it's just a youkai. Those are the dreams that hurt me the most.

The memories of his past. They trouble me as they do Natsume. Still, comparatively, the dreams of his fragmented memory don't bother me much. Although they trouble Natsume, he has friends and family now, and the dreams are gradually disappearing. What aren't disappearing, however, are his dreams of a different nature.

The first time it happened, I nearly transformed and killed him just to get him to stop. Why do humans have such ridiculous dreams? I've heard they come mainly from, well, sexual frustration. Silly human beings, with their need for physical satisfaction. What's worse, his lustful dream didn't even have a girl in it. Taki, is that her name? The one who squeals over my beautiful self. She wasn't there at all; she's actually never appeared in a single one of Natsume's dreams. No, instead, it was a boy with Natsume. His weak friend. What was his name? Tanuma. Yes, Tanuma.

Damn brat was kissing Tanuma, eagerly no less. I could see their tongues glistening whenever they parted a little to breathe. And then they gasped each other's names, hurriedly took off each other's clothes. They pressed close against each other. And Tanuma looked into his eyes, and whispered his name again. _Takashi._ Tanuma's hands reached down… and then…

It was awful. The silly brat should know that he is not allowed to do those things. The morning after, he never has much energy. His energy is sapped enough returning names to undeserving ayakashi!

That particular day, when he woke up, he was still red in the face. I, on the other hand, was lying half dead from shock in the corner. He lifted his blankets up, peeked, turned redder still, and spent a good portion of his morning washing his underwear.

I went out and drank myself stupid.

So, any time one of those dreams starts up, I paw open Natsume's window, and get out faster than Natsume sprinting from an ayakashi who wants the Book of Friends.

I get to Yatsuhara, terrorize the weaklings there to make myself feel better, and drink until I remember nothing. Absolutely nothing.

There are a few times I stay in Natsume's room, though. During _those_ dreams. Lately, the brat has been getting creative. I'm pretty sure he has no idea those sorts of dreams flow into me, by the way, because then, I'm certain he would never sleep in my presence again.

After all, the last dream was about me.

Not about me in my beautiful cat form, of course- I think the humans call that bestiality, and from what I understand, it's highly frowned upon. No, it was me in my real human form. Yes, my human form. I lied when I told him I could only change into him and Reiko- my true human form is nearly as beautiful as my other forms, but I can't maintain it for too long. I may be a high-level youkai, but my true form is a beast. While that might be closer to humans than they think, it's difficult for me to keep up the spiritual energy necessary to appear convincingly human. I didn't want to freak Natsume out if I suddenly sprouted razor-sharp fangs or giant claws, or just started growing fur out of my face.

Because of that, I'm uncertain how Natsume knew of that form. Perhaps he has more spiritual intuition than I originally thought.

In this dream of his, we were sitting in his room, watching the snow come down. It had just started, and being sentimental like he is, he wanted to watch as the first flakes dusted the streets and trees. I was still in my cat form, and Natsume was holding me in his arms.

"It's cold, huh," he commented absentmindedly.

"Yes," I responded, "the perfect temperature for nabe." Natsume laughed at that. The stupid brat thinks the only remarkable trait about me is gluttony, but that's hardly the fact at all. I just enjoy the finer pleasures in life.

And speaking of pleasure, his dream escalated quickly from there.

"But," I continued with a lecherous grin, "if it's too cold for you, how about I warm you up?" Natsume was quite shocked (and rightly so), and his face flushed. However, his dream-self had few inhibitions, and he nodded his head shyly.

In a blast of blue light, I changed into my human form, and Natsume sidled closer, admiring me. Tall, pale as the snow falling outside, and muscular, I had red markings running up my arms and around my torso. Whisker-like markings were painted across the cheeks of my refined face. My narrow eyes were green, and my thick white hair fell down my back in waves. Like I said before, though, maintaining human form was difficult, and I still had my tail. It sprouted from right above my rump, and was long enough to curl around both Natsume and me.

After I transformed, Natsume leaned in close to me, and kissed me gently, pressing his lips against mine in a surprisingly chaste kiss.

"Yes, Sensei, warm me up," he demanded softly, mouth still against my lips. I gladly complied. I grabbed the back of his head, and pushed it closer to me, deepening our kiss. Our tongues entangled, and the kid took my lower lip in his mouth, suckling on it. Where did he learn that? I responded by nipping at his lips teasingly. I then took his tongue into my mouth and sucked, using mine to tickle the tip. He moaned softly. Then, he pushed his hands against my chest, and edged closer and closer to me until we were touching, stomachs pressed together.

His hands trailed down, and touched me further down. I returned the favor.

Needless to say, I was gone and drinking myself into a stupor before he even woke up.

The dreams starring me are increasing in frequency. It's good that youkai don't have to worry about human illnesses, because then I'd have died of liver failure already. Or heart failure. Any time Natsume has a dream like that, if it's about the Tanuma kid, or Natori – who's been showing up as well, to my irritation – I leave immediately and drink varying amounts, depending on how many mental images I need to erase.

If it's a dream about me, though… I'll admit it, I stay. The kid's imagination is getting wilder and wilder, and when he wakes up, he has an incredibly adorable way of avoiding my eyes and refusing to talk to me. He even lightens up on the number of times he snaps at me or punches me, so I usually take advantage of it and eat more food than usual. Still, those are the same days I go out to drink when he leaves for school. Partly out of guilt, I suppose. All right, nearly entirely out of guilt. Also, perhaps… perhaps I do it for the slight chance of getting drunk enough, turned on enough, and bold enough to transform in front of him, push him down, and make his dreams a reality.

…Perhaps.


End file.
